Chapter 266: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 266: Du Xiaojuan's Subtle Change

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Crackle-pop... crackle-pop..."

Time flew, and before they knew it, it was past five in the early morning.

In Shangou Village, households began opening their doors one after another to welcome the New Year.

The sound of firecrackers rose and fell in succession, incessant to the ear.

Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan also rose early to open the door and welcome the New Year.

They had long since checked the almanac; the period from five to six this early morning was the most auspicious time to open the door.

If they missed this window, opening the door later would not be nearly as auspicious.

Wang Zhanggen carried out from the room a string of firecrackers larger than a washbasin.

He tore off the firecrackers' outer packaging and spread the firecrackers out in a long line in front of the courtyard gate.

Then he lit the fuse.

The crackling sound of firecrackers immediately rang out.

A thick plume of dense smoke rose up into the hazy morning light.

Li Xiulan held incense and devoutly worshipped the gods, muttering:

"I pray the immortals bless our family with smooth sailing, good health, bless Dashan to marry soon and have children, succeed in his career away from home, bless Erhai to find a partner soon, bless Xiao Hua's grades to get better and better, and next year get into a good university..."

After finishing her prayers, she then inserted the incense into a small incense tube by the courtyard threshold.

After Wang Zhanggen finished burning the door-opening firecrackers, he went back to sleep.

Li Xiulan, on the other hand, started bustling about.

She had to boil water and kill two big roosters.

Later, around seven or eight o'clock, she still had to go worship the gods.

The custom here is that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, one must go worship several "Bai Gong" nearby, and furthermore, one must go worship the Ancestral Hall.

Additionally, Li Xiulan had previously contracted with a temple; that Broken Temple, she also had to go make offerings to.

The three Wang brothers woke up at the sound of firecrackers.

When the three brothers came out of the room, they discovered Du Xiaojuan was also awake.

Du Xiaojuan smiled at Wang Dashan and said:

"Auntie is killing chickens; why don't we go help?"

She seemed to have already forgotten last night's quarrel.

Seeing her like this, Wang Dashan felt not the slightest touch of emotion; on the contrary, he felt Du Xiaojuan was deliberately showing weakness.

"Alright then, you go to the Firewood Room and help Mom boil water; I'll catch the chickens. Second Brother, you go sharpen the kitchen knife. Youngest Brother, you go prepare the salt water; we'll need it when we bleed them later."

Wang Dashan gave this one sentence of instructions to Du Xiaojuan and his two younger brothers, then went with his mother Li Xiulan to the chicken coop to catch chickens.

Li Xiulan picked the two biggest, fattest roosters.

Wang Dashan carried one in each hand and walked over.

Wang Erhai had already sharpened the knife.

Wang Xiaohua had also already stirred up a small plate of salt water.

Du Xiaojuan held a small stool, sat in front of the stove, and burned firewood.

She was also from a rural area, so burning firewood to boil water, this work, was not difficult for her.

After about half an hour, the water boiled.

She even personally took a large basin, ladled the boiling water, and carried it outside.

Wang Dashan saw the boiling water had arrived.

He immediately slit the roosters' throats to bleed them.

The roosters were very strong; one person was needed to help hold the wings and legs before they could be bled.

Du Xiaojuan volunteered eagerly, extremely proactive.

The atmosphere livened up along with it.

Wang Erhai and Wang Xiaohua, seeing this, both revealed smiles.

They both thought that the little conflict between their eldest brother and Du Xiaojuan had now completely passed.

Wang Dashan thought so too.

A smile appeared on his face:

"You'd better hold tight; this rooster is so fat and strong, just afraid it might break free when we bleed it later."

Du Xiaojuan smiled and said:

"Rest assured, I've got a firm grip."

Wang Dashan plucked some feathers from the chicken's neck, then used the knife to cut the chicken's throat.

As the blade swept across, the big rooster struggled desperately once, fresh blood gushing from its neck into the plate of salt water; the clear, transparent salt water quickly turned a thorough red.

A few small chicken feathers floated on the salt water, shaken loose by the rooster in its death throes.

Du Xiaojuan indeed held very steady; no matter how the big rooster struggled, it could not break free of her two hands.

After the bleeding was done, they twisted the rooster's head around, tucked it under its wing, and then it could be taken to scald in boiling water and pluck feathers.

Wang Erhai and Wang Xiaohua rolled up their sleeves, squatted by the water basin, and began plucking the chicken's feathers.

Wang Dashan and Du Xiaojuan were killing the second rooster.

By the time they finished bleeding the second rooster, the first rooster's feathers had already been mostly plucked.

Chicken feathers are easy to pluck; as long as they are scalded with boiling water just right, they can be plucked clean in a few quick moves, unlike duck feathers which are so hard to pluck.

The plucked rooster needs two small cuts made below the chicken neck and near the chicken buttocks to remove the internal organs and intestines, maintaining the integrity of a whole chicken, because this is for worshipping the gods, the appearance must be kept intact, otherwise that would be disrespectful to the gods.

The task of removing the internal organs was done by Li Xiulan, because she had killed chickens for many years and had long since mastered the skill through practice.

She took out a small knife, fiddled a few times, and easily removed the internal organs and intestines.

As for the work of cleaning the internal organs and intestines, that was handed over to her three sons.

She took the rooster into the Firewood Room to prepare to blanch the rooster for shaping.

During blanching, one must pay constant attention; the posture of the chicken head facing upward must be maintained; if the chicken head tilts, that would be no good.

The three brothers cleaned the internal organs cleanly, then took them over and stuffed them back into the chicken belly.

The rooster used for worshipping the gods must remain whole, so the five viscera and six bowels all have to be stuffed back in.

Busy until past seven o'clock, everything was finally finished.

Li Xiulan tidied up the firecrackers and incense candles, used two large baskets, carried the two roosters on a shoulder pole, and set off to worship the gods.

Wang Dashan brought Du Xiaojuan along to follow.

On the road they encountered quite a few same-village villagers; everyone was laughing and greeting each other.

Quite a few villagers saw Du Xiaojuan and also praised Du Xiaojuan a few words.

Saying she grew up beautiful, grew up spirited.

Wang Dashan's vanity obtained enormous satisfaction.

After finishing worshipping the gods and returning home, Du Xiaojuan suddenly said to Wang Dashan:

"I have to leave this afternoon; I have to go back to my home."

Wang Dashan immediately stared blankly, somewhat surprised:

"Today is the First Day of the Lunar New Year; you're leaving this early?"

Du Xiaojuan smiled bitterly:

"No choice; my dad and mom called me back; after all, the two of us aren't married yet; no matter what, I have to make a trip home."

At this moment she suddenly asked:

"Dashan, how about you come with me to my home for a trip?"

Wang Dashan, however, hesitated a bit.

Du Xiaojuan continued:

"I came to your home for the New Year this year; according to reciprocal courtesy, you should also go to my home for a trip."

Wang Dashan's face showed hesitation:

"I haven't prepared yet; I didn't buy any gifts; right now it's the big New Year; outside shops are all closed; going over hastily at this time isn't too good; how about waiting until May Day, then I'll go to your home..."

Du Xiaojuan smiled, didn't insist on anything:

"Then alright; then I'll go back by myself."

Wang Dashan looked at Du Xiaojuan's face, discovered Du Xiaojuan's face had something unusual.

But yet couldn't see what problem.

He then asked:

"Xiao Juan, what's wrong with you?"

Du Xiaojuan, eyes dodging, said:

"Nothing; got my period today; just a bit uncomfortable."